Getting Out of Iraq

An Iraqi Withdrawal Timetable

Kudos to Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for aligning with the Democrats in passing a bill that sets a timetable for American troops to leave Iraq. The House passed similar legislation last week. According to a recent Pew Poll, most Americans regret going into Iraq, believe the war is going badly and want troops home as soon as possible.

Who can blame them when you pick up the paper and look at what transpired in Iraq just this past Tuesday:

* At least 63 people were killed in two separate truck bombings in the Iraqi city of Tall Afar. In one of the attacks, an insurgent yelled that he had wheat for sale. When the people came running to his truck, he detonated it. The second bombing took place at a busy marketplace. Media reports say insurgents tried to block ambulances from evacuating the wounded.

* A rocket attack in the Green Zone in Baghdad killed a U.S. soldier and wounded another.

* In Anbar province, a Marine was killed in combat.

* A car bomb was detonated outside a restaurant in Ramadi killing ten people.

* The US foiled an insurgent attack in Anbar involving trucks laden with explosives and weapons toting insurgents. Eight U.S. soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Retired General Barry McCaffrey will be briefing the President this week after returning from Iraq, and meeting with the principles. Early media reports paint his report as “gloomy.” It’s an Iraq that has lost faith in its government and is…surprise..unsafe.

Judging from the President’s previous advisors, a negative report on Iraq will simply be ignored by the Administration.

That’s why the Congress’ move this past week is so important. While I don’t ncecssarily want Congress micromanaging the war and its obvious Bush will veto any war spending bill that comes with a timetable, it’s important for him to realize that he’s not the sole decider.

We’re the deciders, too. The American public has a voice in this debate finally with a Congress who will listen to what we want. That Pew Poll showed that 59% of Americans wanted their
Congressperson to vote for a bill that would require the drawdown of U.S. forces by August of 2008.

I’m sure the President will say he doesn’t listen to polls. But what he means is, he doesn’t listen to the people. He doesn’t listen to other branches of government. He doesn’t listen to dissenting opinions.

While I applaud the Congress for trying to do something to show Bush he needs to wrap up his war, in the future, when we’re debating a war of choice, how about we follow the U.S. Constitution? Instead of the Congress passing some blank check, chicken poop use of force measure for the President, why don’t they debate the merits of the war and then vote on a Declaration of War? We haven’t declared war in 66 years yet we’ve still ended up with over 125,000 soldiers dead and more than a quarter million wounded since then.

A Declaration of War would lay everyone’s cards on the table. No one would have to go through a bunch of gyrations explaining their vote if it’s a Declaration of War. That’s pretty cut and dried.